“Did you expect this from the Russians? Tell me: could you ever imagine something like this in your worst nightmare?” – Gordon asked Deryugina.
“In general, I expected everything from them. One could expect everything from them,” she said. “Maybe I didn’t fully believe that there would be a war. I didn’t believe it. But these people are animals, and this atrocity is walking.”
The coach added that having worked in gymnastics for many years, she often came across Russians and saw what they were like.
“This wasn’t news to us at all, you know?” – Deryugina summarized.
Context
Irina Deryugina was born on January 11, 1958 in Kyiv. She was engaged in rhythmic gymnastics, in which she achieved significant success, in particular, she was twice the absolute world champion (in 1977 and 1979).
In 1982, she completed her sports career, worked as a judge and coach, including for the Ukrainian national rhythmic gymnastics team. Since October 2024, he has headed the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation.
